Isn't Your Mission Supposed to Put People First?

"Hm? So you do know?"

Since it involved a mission within the Empire, Kakashi and Obito put away their frivolous attitudes.

"Let Naruto go, and I'll tell you everything I know."

Since he was still alive, he could not wallow in despair. Continuing the mission the Hokage had assigned him was what mattered most.

He still remembered how, before Team 7 had been handed over to him, the Hokage had subtly mentioned Sasuke and Naruto.

His most important duty was to protect those two!

For now, Sasuke should be safe. Naruto was the main concern!

If their target was the Tailed Beasts...

"There are nine Tailed Beasts in our world. Aside from the Nine-Tails in Hidden Leaf Village, the One-Tail is in Sunagakure in the Land of Wind; the Two-Tails is in Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning; the Three-Tails is in Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water; the Four-Tails is in Hidden Stone Village in the Land of Earth; the Five-Tails, Kokuō, is also in Hidden Stone Village; the Six-Tails is in Hidden Mist Village; the Seven-Tails is in... Hidden Mist Village! The Eight-Tails is in Hidden Cloud Village."

After hesitating for a moment, Kakashi revealed this secret that was hardly a secret.

He had deliberately falsely reported that the Seven-Tails was in Hidden Mist Village instead of Hidden Waterfall Village.

Since their target was the Tailed Beasts, they naturally knew this information. After all, they had found Hidden Leaf Village's Jinchuriki immediately!

Seeing the two fall into thought without questioning him, Kakashi could not help but suspect again that they really might have come from a parallel universe.

Could they really not have been sent by another shinobi village? Then what would they want the Tailed Beasts for?

To Kakashi, Tailed Beasts were like nuclear bombs. They could only serve as deterrents. Since these two came from another universe, what secret could they possibly need from the Tailed Beasts?

Kakashi also fell silent.

The Tailed Beasts of this world...

Within the Empire, Tailed Beasts served as guardian beasts for each province. They were also like power banks and whetstones for testing blades.

They were distributed evenly throughout the Empire because the Emperor was there. Besides, without war, most Tailed Beasts had become power banks.

But why were the Tailed Beasts in this world... distributed so evenly as well?

The strength behind them still needed to be investigated...

Kakashi thought to himself.

He had never considered that these "nuclear threats" had been handed out to others by an idiot who had practically begged on his knees to distribute them.

"How are the Five Great Shinobi Villages ranked in strength? Are the Five Great Shinobi Villages the only ones in the Shinobi World?"

"No. There are more than ten shinobi villages in total, but the villages of small countries are basically subordinate to the major nations. So they can hardly be considered true shinobi villages. At present, the Five Great Shinobi Villages within the Five Great Nations are the strongest five. Any one of them has the strength to challenge every shinobi village outside those five."

"As for the ranking of our Five Great Shinobi Villages... they are actually about equal. But if we had to distinguish them, Hidden Sand Village, which only possesses the One-Tail, Shukaku, is the weakest. Whether in terms of the Tailed Beast they possess or their geographical environment, they are the weakest."

Seeing that neither of them objected to his incorrect statement about the Seven-Tails' location, Kakashi once again fell into thought.

As for honestly revealing Sunagakure's situation, that was simply a matter of sacrificing a fellow cultivator to save himself!

He also intended to redirect the trouble. Aside from Hidden Leaf Village, what did the other countries have to do with him?

The people of Sunagakure hated the Hatake Clan to the bone.

"If you let my three students go now... I am willing to accompany you and seize Hidden Sand Village's Tailed Beast!"

Kakashi made his decision.

Let his three students leave, while he kept these two under surveillance at all times.

"Huh? Hey! Lord Shinobi, what about my mission?"

Tazuna panicked.

Construction on the bridge had already come to a halt. If he could not bring these shinobi to deal with Gato's men, then the Land of Waves would truly be finished!

Though these shinobi before him did not seem easy to talk to, Tazuna had no other choice.

"Your mission..."

Kakashi had just been about to say that the mission itself had exceeded its assigned rank when Obito spoke first.

"A mission... I heard a little about your missions along the way. Could you explain the specifics?"

As an exemplary young man, Obito enjoyed smoking, drinking, and...

Enjoyed helping young ladies cross the street and giving up his seat to burly tattooed men. Naturally, Obito was kindhearted and overflowing with compassion.

He was not much better than Nagato.

Of course, his compassion was not for Tazuna's mission.

If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author. It may have simply been renamed!

What he cared about were the suffering commoners of the Land of Waves.

After all, putting the people first was the education they had received from childhood as shinobi.

This involved an entire country's common people and economy. Along with the ruthless Rogue Ninja they had encountered on the road, it made Obito decide to help them deal with that merchant called Gato.

After all, the Emperor had said that they had come here to bring peace to this world. If this world was already peaceful, then they had come to cooperate.

But judging by the current situation... completing the mission in the former manner seemed more reliable!

After all, the version of himself in this world was already dead!

How was this supposed to be peaceful trade?!

"Are you talking about the mission Tazuna commissioned? This one..."

Kakashi had just intended to speak when Obito interrupted him.

"No, I'm asking about the specific circumstances behind this commissioned mission."

Within the Empire, for example, the authority they had been granted this time was extremely broad.

Although this was an ultra-S-rank mission, its core contents were very simple.

First: Protect your own life.

Second: While protecting your own life, protect your companions' lives as well.

Third: Gather as much intelligence about this world as possible.

Only on the foundation of those three points came collecting Tailed Beasts, seeking people with Kekkei Genkai and talented people from this world, establishing a transmission passage, and so on.

Just as they had said from the beginning, arriving in this world was already a great achievement. The missions afterward were basically left to their conscience.

"A commissioned mission..."

Kakashi's gaze became vacant when he heard that.

When it came to missions, what he remembered most clearly was his father, who had abandoned a mission to save his companions, only to be condemned by everyone—including the companion he had saved—until he took his own life.

Of course, there was also Obito, who had died on a mission because Kakashi had failed to cooperate with him immediately...

"Once a mission is accepted, it must be completed even at the cost of one's life and everything else. That is the responsibility of shinobi in this world and the meaning of our existence."

"The village's missions take precedence over everything."

Kakashi paused here and did not say the rest.

Except for comrades...

"Huh?"

???

Huge question marks appeared over both their heads.

It was not just Obito who was stunned. Kakashi was stunned as well.

What kind of nonsense was that? Why was he so rigid?

Did he not know that people could make things happen? What did he mean, that once a mission was accepted, it had to be completed at all costs, even one's life?

"Then what are the criteria for judging a mission's importance? I'm curious—who came up with this mission system?"

"This... the mission system gradually formed alongside the establishment and development of shinobi villages. Naturally, the higher-ups decide the criteria for importance."

"Not only does it ensure that shinobi can carry out missions in an orderly manner, it also effectively improves the quality and efficiency of mission completion. At the same time, the mission system is one of the important methods shinobi villages use to manage and control shinobi. After all, if everyone acted according to their own wishes and consciousness, shinobi villages would suffer enormous losses on many missions!"

Seeing that Kakashi's brain had been conditioned to this extent, the two were dumbfounded.

"If shinobi have no absolute judgment or decision-making power over missions, then how can you be sure that the orders issued by the higher-ups are always correct?"

Kakashi questioned him in return.

That was right. How could they be sure that what the higher-ups said was absolutely correct?

Kakashi had never thought about it that much.

To him, he only needed to carry out missions. He was merely a tool.

"Relatively speaking, their decisions must be more correct than those of shinobi. After all, onlookers see more clearly than those involved!"

Kakashi offered an explanation, though even he felt it was pale and powerless.

"Heh. And what about the consequences? Aren't the shinobi carrying out the missions the ones who pay for their mistakes and failures in blood?"

"Don't your missions here put people first? Don't they prioritize your own lives?"